Dror Bar-Natan: What Knots Reveal About Quantum Field Theory

I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE Every episode days early, ad-free, plus my essays: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe Dror Bar‑Natan on the deep connections between knot theory and quantum field theory, insights from Ed Witten and Eric Weinstein, and reflections on mathematical research, teaching, and creativity.0:00 Introduction3:29 Quantum Field Theory and Knot Theory10:19 Another QFT / Knot Theory connection20:46 Knot Theory and Gravity + Bar‑Natan's PhD on Chern‑Simons24:08 Homology and Cohomology32:54 Dror's average day / routines / laziness35:23 What is "work" for a Professor?36:50 All the research is to support teaching41:34 Motivated examples missing in math teaching47:35 More creative when younger or older?48:43 Being "systematic" with learning and research50:37 Rant against theorems and proofs54:51 What understanding a mathematical concept looks like1:03:35 On laziness, strengths, weaknesses in math1:07:47 Advice for the struggling mathematician1:09:30 What Dror learned from Ed Witten1:12:12 On Eric Weinstein1:19:32 Knot Theory and Physics (again)1:20:10 Why can't 2/3D physics extend to 4 easily?1:34:21 Hard Problem of Consciousness1:35:54 Problems Dror thinks about daily1:37:49 Direction for mathematics research1:40:26 Philosophy of math (ultra‑finitism)1:44:45 Pure math in service to applied math1:47:14 How to learn a new field of math1:47:15 Unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics1:48:28 On IQ1:51:06 Biology / psychology / philosophy1:54:03 What led him into math? Can anyone learn advanced math?2:03:52 New research institutions outside academia?2:06:04 Bias in academia2:10:15 Who's a mathematician and who's not?2:14:31 Knot theory and protein folding?2:19:49 Is math a human construct?2:22:50 Does he believe in god?5:19:49 Ramanujan and his Goddess2:23:47 Story about Curt and the Prisoner's Dilemma2:30:27 Bible Code and applying advanced math2:37:26 Why does it take 360 pages to "prove" 1+1=2?SPONSORS:RESOURCES:- YouTube link: https://youtu.be/rJz_Badd43c- Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal- Crypto: https://nowpayments.io/donation/TOE- PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/paypalTOE- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt- Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/better-left-unsaid-with-curt-jaimungal/id1521758802- Pandora: https://pdora.co/33b9lfP- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e- Subreddit r/TheoriesOfEverything: https://reddit.com/r/theoriesofeverything- PDF link of notes: https://tinyurl.com/4u4ru2yh- Better Left Unsaid documentary: http://betterleftunsaidfilm.com Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal features long-form, technically detailed interviews with leading researchers in physics, mathematics, consciousness, and philosophy, exploring topics at the level of active research. For academics, graduate students, and anyone seeking depth beyond popular science. FOLLOW: Substack | Spotify | YouTube | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices